Page 208 - PJ MED OPS Handbook 8th Ed

Rotary Wing Injuries

1. The article referenced includes a review of 84 autopsies of pilots killed in helo accidents.
2. Contact injuries/blunt traumas are a greater concern than deceleration forces.
3. Use of head protection and shoulder restraint can significantly influence injury patterns.
a. 50% of fatalities in survivable US Army helo accidents were caused by head strikes.
b. Head injury can be fatal or severely impair the ability to escape the post-crash environment
and the associated hazards.
c. Statistically significant injury patterns:
i) Facial bone fractures are associated with brain lacerations and rib fractures
ii) Rib fx’s are associated with lung/heart lacerations, injury to liver, aorta, spleen
4. Primary Cause of Death
a. Blunt trauma 88%
b. Thermal (Burns) 4–5%
c. Drowning
d. Exsanguination
e. Inhalation of smoke and toxic gases
f. Hypothermia
g. Asphyxia
5. Traumatic Injury by body region
a. Head
i) Skull fractures 51%
ii) Facial bone fractures 47%
iii) Brain injuries 67%
b. Thorax
i) Lung injury 60%
ii) Heart 41%
iii) Aorta 38%
iv) Sternum fracture 25%
c. Abdomen
i) Lower incidence of injury than other body regions
ii) Spleen 32%
iii) Liver 47%
iv) Pelvis fracture 30%
d. Fractures
i) Upper extremity
1) Clavicle 21%
2) Humerus 25%
3) Radius/ulna 16%
ii) Lower extremity
1) Femur 27%
2) Tibia 34%
3) Fibula 31%
iii) Pelvis 30%
iv) Spine
1) Thoracic 30%
2) Cervical 25%
3) Lumbar

206 n Pararescue Medical Operations Handbook / 8th Edition